In 2016, there were nearly as many people in Washington county jails awaiting trial as the population of Lincoln County. The vast majority of people in jails throughout the state have not been convicted of a crime: 77 percent of them, according to findings outlined in the recently released Pretrial Reform Task Force Final Recommendations […]
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Ethics guru Mark Fucile analyzes a Court of Appeals decision to overturn a lower court’s ruling for contempt against a defendant’s former counsel. Division I of the Washington Court of Appeals recently addressed a subpoena duces tecum to former counsel in State v. Rogers, ___ Wn. App. ___, 414 P.3d 1143, 2018 WL 1602957 (2018). […]
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Besides March Madness, the third week of March 2017 marks other noteworthy occasions. Among these, according to Google, are: Pulmonary Rehabilitation Week, Brain Awareness Week, Girl Scout Week, and Public Defense Week. The value of the first three are self-evident: Breathing. Thinking. Thin Mints. But why public defense? Isn’t it already inclusively acknowledged in National […]
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We’re excited to present the November 2016 issue of NWLawyer — our first-ever criminal law issue! Check out a few of our feature stories below or read the full issue online.
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A state appeals court points to the common law roots of the “lawyer-witness rule” in overturning a criminal conviction.
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Tacoma defense attorney Hayley Fulton examines the differences between boys and girls navigating the juvenile justice system.
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The Court of Appeals weighs in on the meaning of “necessary witness” in considering when a trial attorney can be called to the stand in his own case.
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Great lessons are learned in the field. But how do you prepare for the game when you don’t even know the plays? It can be helpful to learn from the mistakes of others, but it can be quite a challenge to find someone willing to share their mistakes.
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We have all seen a veteran describing a traumatic event on the battlefield start to choke up, weep, and become so overwhelmed with emotion that he is unable to continue speaking. The same thing can happen to vulnerable witnesses, especially children, when describing a traumatic event to a jury.
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As Washington’s first wave of pot shops opened in early July, it is high time for a quick recap of our state’s laws prohibiting stoned driving. It has been over a year since Bill Kirk’s excellent post on the myths and facts of Washington marijuana law, and DUI laws have since changed. It is a […]
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While the media is embroiled in the controversy surrounding the Burwell v. Hobby Lobby decision, the Supreme Court also made a significant Fourth Amendment ruling in People v. Riley, 2014 U.S. LEXIS 44997 (2014). The case creates a bright line rule against warrantless searches of cell phones under the search incident to arrest doctrine (SITA). […]
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“Please raise your right hand to take the oath” is a phrase that has become commonplace in the modern courtroom and is required of all witnesses before they take the stand to offer testimony at trial. However, many attorneys may not be aware of the purpose or history of the practice of “raising your right […]
Read More…Explore — and debunk — common myths about police officers. Attorneys work with police officers through depositions, prosecutions, defense cases, and through many other interactions — maybe even getting stopped for a traffic ticket. We all know “it’s not like on TV,” but it might be worth exploring some of the most common myths about […]
Read More…The WA Supreme Court weighs in on the use of comfort dogs in court. Man’s best friend has taken on an important role in today’s society, far surpassing what Lassie began. We’re familiar with dogs being used in certain capacities: seeing Eye dogs, drug sniff dogs, and even seizure dogs. Law school libraries have even kept dogs on […]
Read More…Under State v. Gauthier, citizens have the right to refuse a warrantless blood test, and such refusal cannot be used as evidence at trial. Defense attorneys have argued for years that a breath or blood test constitutes a search and that without a warrant, citizens should have the right to refuse the search without consequence. Washington courts […]
Read More…Is possession of a forged document enough to sustain a forgery conviction? No, says the WA Supreme Court. Learn more. This post was originally published by Queen City Addendum on August 6, 2013. Reposted with permission. The recent Washington Supreme Court case, State v. Vasquez, No. 87282-1, En Banc, focuses on possession of forged documents (such as Social Security cards). The Court […]
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